Exhibits at the Garden
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens hosts many art and sculpture exhibits throughout the season. Learn more about the current and upcoming exhibits below.
Sculpture Exhibit by Meg Brown Payson
April 15-October 31
Throughout the Gardens
Meg Brown Payson’s dye-sublimation printed aluminum sculptures will be featured throughout the Gardens this year. These stunning works are simultaneously artistic and scientific; their images are reminiscent of patterns found in water and the natural world as a whole. Though Payson prints on many surfaces, aluminum holds up in New England weather and is especially suited to outdoor sculpture. Payson has exhibited at the Portland Museum of Art, Massachusetts’ deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, and the Ogunquit Museum of American Art.
SCULPTURE by Dan West
April 15-December 20
Throughout the Gardens
Dan West’s heron sculptures will be nesting in our pond this season. He uses driftwood and other found materials for the base of his exquisite bronze sculptures.
Pondworks Photography by William Scully
April 15-June 14
Education Center
William Scully, a Massachusetts- and Maine-based photographer, enjoys exploring the natural world with his camera, looking to capture the gesture in nature. In 2011 he won Nature Photographer of the Year in the International Photography Awards and a Lucie Award nomination for Discovery of the Year for his underwater color series of water lilies.
Seagrass and Riverbeds by Jeffery Fitzgerald
April 15-July 15
Café
Jeffery Fitzgerald is inspired by the “movement and energy of the rolling sea” as well as the “ripples in the river bed where waters merge.” Grasses and seaweed are depicted in his work using wild romantic gesture and bold brushstrokes. Though his images are abstracted, his paintings evoke the fervor and emotion in nature with which we connect. Bursts of color emerge between the lines to delight the viewer with welcome surprises. Jeffery lives in York, Maine, and paints mostly in the winter because, like many Mainers, he is busy running his seasonal restaurant in the summer.
Wetland Inspirations by Susan Bartlett Rice
April 15-July 15
Market
Susan Bartlett Rice lives and paints on her family farm in MidCoast Maine where she is drawn to the color and compositions she observes in nature. “I truly love where I live, and by painting life around me, New England is intrinsic in all my work.” Susan has painted murals in Damariscotta, Portland, Biddeford, and Portsmouth, N.H. Her bold color schemes and depiction of Maine life are her signature. She loves her peaceful life and exudes her joy on every surface she paints. She held positions at Rhode Island School of Design and the San Francisco Museum of Art before returning to Maine to paint and raise her family.
Native Orchids and Lilies of Maine by Katy Gannon-Janelle
April 15-July 15
The Library
Katy Gannon Janelle completed The Certificate In Botanical Arts Program at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in 2019. Her exquisite botanical drawings of orchids and lilies will be showing in the library of our Café building.
The Wetlands in Pastel by Signature Members of The Pastel Society of Maine
June 15-September 2
Education Center
Opening Reception June 19, 3:30 -5 p.m.
The Pastel Society of Maine has approximately 100 members throughout Maine, the U.S., and Canada. Their mission is to promote public awareness of pastels and create a network for local and regional pastel artists. A juried exhibit by the Pastel Society of Maine will hang in the Bosarge Family Education Center.
Shoreline Trails by Roz Welsh
July 16-Oct 31
Café
Roz Welsh’s sewn and painted canvases bring to mind undulating waters and swaying grasses. While she first started piecing canvas together in art school out of necessity, she adopted the technique and made it her signature. Inspired by nature and her native Maine surroundings, she sews and stretches three-dimensional canvas and uses a muted, earthy palette to communicate her experience with the natural world. Her daily walks through the forests and along the shoreline provide her with endless inspiration after which, in a peaceful state of mind, she returns to the studio to create.
Steve Tobin: Unearthed
By Steve Tobin
Contemporary artist Steve Tobin’s dramatic and large-scale root sculptures are displayed throughout the Gardens. Well known for his Trinity Root 9/11 memorial sculpture, a tribute to the victims of the World Trade Center attack in Lower Manhattan, Tobin is a prolific and visionary sculptor whose artist’s eye and rigorous scientific mind have led to diverse artworks in a wide range of media.
Tobin has a long, personal history in Maine. “As a child, I canoed in Maine―the Allagash, the St. John, the St. Croix. I love Maine. I love the light and shadow. The flora and fauna, the tidepools―they’re all amazing inspirations.”
Whether visiting Maine or back on his 14 acres in Pennsylvania, Tobin’s true home has always been nature. “Nature has always been my refuge―living in it, that’s my inspiration. Walking in the woods, picking up pine cones, stones, leaves, roots, letting my mind wander.”
Permanent Sculpture
As you tour the gardens you will see many works of sculpture that are part of our permanent collection. Mostly through generous donations, we have built a wonderful collection of regional artists whose works relate to our mission. To see where these works are located, use Florafind to locate where in the gardens a work is found.
Alert Wolf and Stalking Wolf, Wendy Klemperer, steel rebar
Internationally recognized artist Wendy Klemperer uses scrap metal to make welded animal forms. This piece is located along the Garden’s entrance drive.
Alexander’s Threshold, Andreas Von Huene, granite
Andreas von Huene is an artist and sculptor working on a wide range of private and public art projects in stone. This piece is located by the intersection of the Maine Woods Trail and Birch Allee.
Axis Deer and Running Deer, Wendy Klemperer, steel rebar
Internationally recognized artist Wendy Klemperer uses scrap metal to make welded animal forms. This piece is located on a clearing along the Garden’s entrance drive.
Basin, David Holmes, carved stone
Maine artist David Holmes uses old world techniques to make his sculptures of stone, wood and bronze. This piece is located in the center of the Meditation Garden.
Chiseled Glass Orb, Henry Richardson, glass
Artist, inventor and craftsman Henry Richardson uses plate glass in sculptures that are animated by refracted light. This piece is located at the bottom of Haney Hillside Garden.
Earthbook, Cat Schwenk, cast concrete
Cat Schwenk makes mixed media art with a focus on nature and language. This piece is located by the Coloring Cottage in the Bibby and Harold Alfond Children’s Garden.
Flock of Birds, George Sherwood, stainless steel
George Sherwood is an artist and engineer well known for his kinetic sculpture made of stainless steel. This piece is located beside the bridge in the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses.
Mother Earth, Dick Alden, carved stone
Dick Alden of Starfish Studio carves marble and granite into forms that strive for rhythm and harmony. This piece is located along the entrance to the Rhododendron Garden.
Pine Cone, Steve Tobin, metal
Internationally known artist Steve Tobin works in many media. This work is part of his New Nature Series. It is located at the intersection of the Maine Woods Trail and the Shoreline Trail.
Rabbit, Lisa Becu, carved stone
Lise Becu draws on Inuit mythology and imagination to create stone carvings of animals and people. This piece is located by the Reflexology Maze in the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses.
Sal’s Bear, Nancy Schon, bronze
Nancy Schon makes public art in bronze that often is based in literature such as her Make Way for Ducklings installed at the Boston Public Garden. This piece is based on the book Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey. It is located on one of the Blueberry Islands in the Bibby and Harold Alfond Children’s Garden.
Sentinel Island II, Gary Haven Smith, granite
Gary Haven Smith is an abstract stone sculptor known for his granite pieces which contrast precision cuts with raw stone.This piece is located in the Burpee Kitchen Garden fountain.
Splash, Herb Ferris, stone
Herb Ferris outdoor works are made of wood and stone. His work can be found in many public collections including the Smithsonian and Middlebury College. This piece is located along the Shoreland Trail by the Fairy House Village.
Stone Faces, William Jacobs, carved granite
William Jacobs creates unique sculptures carved from locally collected granite fieldstones. There are five faces located throughout the Central Gardens.
Stone Pumpkins, Bill Royall, stone
Produced by Maine Millstones, these works are hand carved from granite and are a part of the Garden Art collection. These pieces are located in the gardens beside the Seagull Pavilion in the Bibby and Harold Alfond Children’s Garden.
Stonewall Dragon, Carole Hanson, carved stone
Carole is renowned for her design of large scale sculpture of natural forms for landscape settings. This piece was inspired by the book The Stone Wall Dragon by Rochelle Draper. It is located by the Seagull Pavilion in the Bibby and Harold Alfond Children’s Garden.
The Codfather, Steve Lindsay, bronze cast over wood
Steve Lindsay is best known for his carvings made from locally available wood and stone for public and private collections. This piece is located by the intersection of the Maine Woods Trail and the Shoreline Trail near The Landing.
Wave Bench V, Gary Haven Smith, granite
Gary Haven Smith is an abstract stone sculptor known for his combination of raw stone with precision cuts in granite. This piece is located near the Great Lawn.
Whales, Carole Hanson, carved stone
Carole is renowned for her design of large scale sculpture of natural forms for landscape settings. This piece is located at the entrance of the Bibby and Harold Alfond Children’s Garden.
Wind Orchid, George Sherwood, stainless steel
George Sherwood is an artist and engineer well known for his kinetic sculpture. This piece is located next to the ledge on the Great Lawn.
